- The Islamic Coin team explained how ISLAMIC was clearly different from ISLM.
- Although the first users were not satisfied, there could be more to come for the HAQQ network.
In a world where every cryptocurrency project tells a unique story, Islamic Coin [ISLM] seems to be caught between identifying it as a legitimate project with different foundations and another currency masquerading as the real ISLM.
This scenario was clearly visible in last week’s PeckShield Alert post on X (formerly Twitter). From the post, the blockchain security handle claimed that the Islamic Coin launch was bad. This was because another token was thought to be the cryptocurrency that had fallen by 100%. Unfortunately, the blockchain security company mistook another ISLM token that was launched on the BNB Chain for the project developed by HAQQ Network on October 10.
#PeckShieldAlert #slip Islamic currency #Islamic on #BNBchain has dropped -100%
0xaBF3…B083 exchanged 1,000,000,000,000,000 $Islamic for 724.4 $BNB ($150,551.71) pic.twitter.com/Z0PUcGJqdJ
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) October 11, 2023
In the midst of FUD we find the answers
While it is not uncommon for tokens to rise due to a popular story, due diligence is also important. After the PeckShield Alert message, a number of media outlets spread the news that ISLM’s launch was disastrous. This also spread fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) around the real token’s community. However, AMBCrypto considered finding out whether this rumor was true or not.
Viola! We found out that the ISLM token being talked about was a token deployed by some unknown parties. This also happened at the expense of unsuspecting buyers. Also take a look The data from CoinMarketCap showed that the real ISLM had gained 61.19% in the last seven days.
Despite the clarity, there were also some irregularities during the launch. At one point, the project’s early adopters criticized Islamic Coin for the value of the reward given out. Some also expressed dissatisfaction with the criteria required to claim their tokens.
To get the real details of what happened, AMBCrypto spoke to one of the CEO and co-founder of Islamic Coin, Alex Malkov. But before we get into the details of the conversation, let’s take a look at what Islamic Currency really is.
Islamic Currency: A Sharia Compliant Web3 Project?
This is what an Islamic Coin official said websiteits mission is to give 1.9 billion Muslims access to the world of digital assets. And it strives to do this without compromising the tenets of the faith. As the native currency of the HAQQ network, an ethics-focused L1 blockchain, ISLM was built on the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus.
To pioneer the future of Islamic finance, the project noted that it offers interest-free investments. Also included was a host of other Sharia-compliant products. At the time of writing, Islamic Coin had a market capitalization of $29.66 billion with a total supply of ISLM tokens.
Back to the interview with Malkov, the first question asked of the co-founder was how he felt about the project’s eventual Mainnet launch. According to Malkov, Islamic Coin’s main goal is to get Muslims on board without compromising their values. He said,
“The availability of ISLM to the public, especially to Muslims who want to align their financial activities with their faith, means we are transforming lives and creating meaningful change.”
How the community came into being
Regarding the blockchain, Malkov noted that several developments are coming. He gave examples including the HAQQ blockchain, HAQQ wallet, Shariah Oracle and Evergreen DAO.
For context, the Evergreen DAO is an important council of the Haqq network. It also acts as a virtual non-profit foundation focusing on the project’s long-term sustainability and community impact. Besides the DAO activity, another area where Islamic Coin has flourished is the community. For a project that only recently started, having 1.3 million followers on X must have taken a lot of hard work.
Curious about how the project performed, AMBCrypto asked Malkov to provide some insights. In his response, Malkov said the focus was on involving mainly Muslim-dominated countries. By doing this, it was able to bring five of the top twenty countries in the Crypto Adoption Index to its side.
These countries include Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Morocco and Turkey (where the country claims more than half of the population). invests in ISLM). However, the CEO emphasized that sentiment surrounding the project was not the only factor that attracted investors.
He said Islamic Coin is a 360-degree financial ecosystem designed to bridge the gap between crypto-savvy and non-crypto audiences. He added that it does this by providing ethical and practical solutions to modern economic challenges. To put it in plain terms: Malkov told AMBCrypto:
“From social media interactions to healthcare services, our platform acts as a multi-faceted financial tool. This makes it attractive not only to those who adhere to Islamic values, but also to anyone interested in a financial system that emphasizes transparency, ethics and charity.”
“ISLAMIC is not ISLM”
Regarding the link to a carpet pulling project, the co-founder noted that the ticker ‘ISLM’ was clearly different. From the PeckShield Alert tweet, the ticker for the failed token was “ISLAMIC.” He also said that ISLM did not trade on the BNB Chain at any time. At the time of writing, Kucoin was the only exchange where the cryptocurrency was listed.
📢 #ISLM Token is now available for trading @kucoincom!
Discover rewarding events and trading #ISLM now: https://t.co/2I8PMcQJlv
More exchanges are coming. pic.twitter.com/mEnR06kapi
— Islamic Coin (@Islamic_Coin) October 10, 2023
In addition, Malkov pointed out that the incident was very unfortunate, especially because it came from a “trusted” source. He also advised the community to try to verify news before spreading it. He said,
“For an industry like crypto, where volatility is commonplace, mischaracterizations and mistakes like these can have devastating consequences for any project, including ours.”
As a way to limit such repetition, Malkov noted that Islamic Coin has created a news feed on the HAQQ wallet. Here the users can get verified information. But there was still one part that Islamic Coin needed to clear the air on. This was part of the rewards program.
Not what the community expected
In addition to the reasons Malkov listed, an undeniable reason for his massive social media following was the promise to reward early adopters. As a result, the crypto community from the aforementioned countries flocked to the HAQQ network and participated in activities using the network. This was done in the hope that the project would bring rewards to the community, such as Arbitrum [ARB] and a few others had done so.
However, a large number of users were dissatisfied with the tokens received or the criteria for qualification. Some also shared how they encountered difficulties in claiming the tokens. A look at the comments on
Not yet received pic.twitter.com/OV5zzOPvRA
— RJ |Full Power |🚢 | .lens | 💚🌙.fuel | 🐐|🤖 🛸 (@lakshithaprasa9) October 16, 2023
Meanwhile, Malkov spoke to AMBCrypto about this topic. According to him, the concerns surrounding the airdrop strategy were unnecessary. This was because it had plans for its community. For example, he talked about a one-month cliff for claiming tokens. In another he revealed that there was a six-month unlock program, saying that:
“While there will be some concern about our airdrop strategy, it is intended to encourage our community participation and longevity. We wanted to draw a direct distinction between those who are here to make money quickly and cheaply, and those who want to help us pioneer a future for ethical finance.”
Could more wait?
In terms of ISLM’s price action, Malkov said that the development of HAQQ as a chain for various utilities was much more important than its token value. This was because Islamic Coin was more concerned about staying relevant for the long term than about it being a cash grab. In this regard, he said Islamic Coin would also create ideas to impact the lives of people beyond web3.
Finally, Malkov made some comments about the project’s roadmap. While he opined that building in the current market was challenging, he also reiterated that the project aims to follow the roadmap religiously.
Some of the developments he mentioned were a $ISLM-supported Mastercard and a crypto-fiat processing service. He also added that a gold-pegged stablecoin, developed in partnership with UAE banks, was in the works. For developers, there was a $40 million grant at HAQQPads and HAQQ Labs, and as such
“We will aggressively onboard developers who are building innovative solutions. The idea is to have dApps that meet the everyday needs of the Islamic and ethical financial community, all on HAQQ, with Islamic Coin fueling these innovations to flourish.”
In the meantime, Islamic Coin’s official X page provided an overview of its Q3 performance, which can be found below.
The #IslamicCoin And #HAQQ ecosystem has expanded significantly over the past quarter, thanks to the continued support of our valued community 🚀
A brief summary of the remarkable partnerships forged by #IslamicCoin & @the_haqqnetwork in Q3 & Q2 🧵
— Islamic Coin (@Islamic_Coin) October 16, 2023